A grid of fine, branching lines now capped his right shoulder, dark grey filaments of charcoal permanently embedded beneath the skin. According to the Mentawai Sipaniti who had given him the tattoo, it depicted the fronds of the sago palm - or so his limited grasp of the man's language had lead him to comprehend. He understood that amongst the Mentawai such a tattoo was an honor - bestowed in his case as a gesture of thanks for ridding them of their giant rat.

It was, he felt, one of the most interesting relics of a case he'd ever acquired.

*The Mentawai are an indigenous people living in the islands of west Sumatra.